Tools for Thinking About the Language of Science: Science Translanguaging and Autonomy Touring

• In Event: Science Education Across Multiple Contexts

Abstract

Current science standards emphasize students’ engagement with each other’s thinking through multimodal representation and communication. However, many teachers struggle to support such learning, especially for students coming from culturally and linguistically minoritized backgrounds. Using two theoretical tools -- translanguaging and autonomy touring -- we explore the ways in which bilingual learners draw from all their available semiotic resources to make meaning in science learning contexts through a combination of linguistic and non-linguistic resources. We use examples from two contexts of a larger study, family conversations in bilingual family workshops, and student answers on a bilingual constructed response science assessment, to consider how these two theoretical tools can support teachers in creating robust science learning opportunities for all students.

Authors

• Cory A. Buxton, Oregon State University

• Ruth Harman, University of Georgia - Athens

• Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso, Mississippi State University

• Max Vazquez Dominguez, University of North Georgia